In recent years the graphical user interface of most media content editing software has tended to converge toward a somewhat standardized screen layout. In such layouts, one part of the screen typically contains a graphical representation of the current state of the composed multimedia work, and another contains graphical controls which manage the playback of the multimedia content. Additionally, a substantial portion of the screen is usually occupied by a selection window which contains multimedia content which is selectable by the user, e.g., audio clips, video clips, etc. The selection window also typically allows the user to browse the available storage devices in the user's computer or accessible via a network for additional multimedia content.
Of course, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the process of locating and selecting specific multimedia content for inclusion in a work can prove to be quite tedious, especially for an unskilled or novice user who potentially is dealing with media from many different sources (e.g., images from digital still and video cameras, audio recordings, stock sound and video libraries, etc.).
Of course, the wide spread availability and growing popularity of digital multimedia devices has forced unprecedented numbers of novice users to cope with the intricacies of the digital revolution. For a novice the process of media editing can be a daunting and time consuming process that may require the mastery of a completely new vocabulary and the learning of the specific operations and features of specialized media editing software.
By way of example, consider the situation that confronts the novice computer user who is faced with a typical graphical user interface of the sort described previously. The screen is divided up into different regions, some of which are containing lists of audio or video input files, others which are for receipt of the selected input media files, still others are used in connection with the editing and the application of effects, etc. Of course, these screen windows are typically inadequately labelled so that the user may be completely mystified when an attempt to place a video clip into an audio track results in the generation of an error. Similarly, the user is given little guidance in the use of the various transport, editing, and other controls that are scattered about the screen. Thus, and at a minimum, the novice user must become accustomed to the structure of the graphical user interface, he or she has to learn to recognize the differences between the various sorts of multimedia clips that might be used as input, and he or she must master the standard selection process for multimedia content, which is conventionally a “drag and drop” type interaction. All this, can be very frustrating and time consuming for a novice user and can delay significantly the production of any meaningful results.
Thus what is needed is a method to enable the user to quickly and efficiently create multimedia compositions out of multimedia content without spending inordinate amounts of time learning to understand the technology involved. It would additionally be preferred that the invention enables a user to edit existing multimedia works in the same efficient manner.
Heretofore, as is well known in the multimedia industry, there has been a need for an invention to address and solve the above-described problems. Accordingly it should now be recognized, as was recognized by the present inventors, that there exists, and has existed for some time, a very real need for a system and method that would address and solve the above-described problems.
Before proceeding to a description of the present invention, however, it should be noted and remembered that the description of the invention which follows, together with the accompanying drawings, should not be construed as limiting the invention to the examples (or preferred embodiments) shown and described. This is so because those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains will be able to devise other forms of this invention with the ambit of the appended claims.